Myeloma Information

The Symptoms and Side Effects of Multiple Myeloma

When you’re going through treatment for multiple myeloma, listen to your body. Keep a journal of how you feel physically and emotionally. Keeping notes can help you keep track of how you’re doing over time and of symp­toms or side effects that may come
and go. This can help you work closely with your doctor to manage the side effects that you experience from mul­tiple myeloma or its treatment, and ensure that your questions are answered.

Making the Most of Your Medical Appointments

Your oncologist, nurses, and
other members of your healthcare
team work together to treat
your multiple myeloma. Since medical
appointments are the main time you
will interact with your team, being as
prepared as possible for these visits is
important. It will help ensure that you
understand your diagnosis and treatment,
get answers to your questions, and feel
more satisfied with your overall care.
Here are some ways to prepare for your
medical appointments.

Your Guide to Making Multiple Myeloma Treatment Decisions

Experts in myeloma will help
you consider all of your treatment
options, balancing the
risks and benefits of each with your
age and overall health. For example,
while high-dose chemotherapy and
autologous stem cell transplant is
considered a standard treatment for
myeloma, not everyone can tolerate
high-dose chemotherapy.

Initial results
from a large, randomized
clinical trial for
people with multiple
myeloma showed that people
who received the oral drug lenalidomide
(Revlimid, also known as CC-5013)
following a blood stem cell transplant
had their cancer kept in check longer
than those who received a placebo.

Coping with Blood Cancers

Cure rates and remission periods
for adults with leukemia,
lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic
syndromes, and other blood
cancers are greatly improved because of
new drugs, new uses for existing drugs,
and improvements in radiation therapy
and stem cell transplantation techniques.
Research to improve health outcomes
for more people with blood cancers is
ongoing. Physicians are working to
tailor therapies to decrease side effects,
as well as long-term and late effects.

General Information About Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms

Multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms (cancers) are diseases in which the body makes too many plasma cells. Plasma cells develop from B lymphocytes (B cells), a type of white blood cell that is made in the bone marrow. Normally, when bacteria or viruses enter the body, some of the B cells will change into plasma cells. The plasma cells make a different antibody to fight each type of bacteria or virus that enters the body, to stop infection and disease.

Stages of Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms

After multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms have been diagnosed, tests are done to find out the amount of cancer in the body. The process used to find out the amount of cancer in the body is called staging. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.

Piecing Together Your Multiple Myeloma Treatment Options

Multiple myeloma is a type of
cancer that begins in plasma
cells (white blood cells that
produce antibodies). Different types of treatments are available. Some
treatments are standard, and some are
being tested in clinical trials. Nine types
of standard treatment for multiple myeloma
are currently used.